Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, B.A., was appointed by Governor Pataki in June 1999 as a member of the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York. Mr. Wiesenfeld was born in The Bronx in 1958, the son of two Holocaust survivors. He moved with his parents to Rego Park in 1971 and attended the Bronx High School of Science and Queens College, where he also pursued graduate studies. After serving for four years in the foreign counterintelligence division of the FBI, Mr. Wiesenfeld served as an assistant to Congressman Thomas Manton and Queens Borough President Claire Shulman. He was then appointed as Chief-of-Staff to Mayor Koch's Traffic Commissioner where he also served for four years. Following the conclusion of the Koch Administration, Mr. Wiesenfeld became the New York Metropolitan Area Executive Assistant to United States Senator Alfonse D'Amato. As a senior staff member in the New York office, he was responsible for many of the Senator's activities and his personal representation in the eight counties comprising the downstate region. In January 1995, Mr. Wiesenfeld became the Executive Assistant to New York State Governor George Pataki for the New York Metropolitan Region. His duties included directing the New York City office, coordinating the Governor's relations with all civic, ethnic, and geographic organizations, and other general responsibilities as a senior aide to the Governor. Mr. Wiesenfeld also became the New York City Regional Director of the Empire State Development Corporation in 1999, the State's economic development agency. By appointment of Governor Pataki, he is currently a member of the board of the United Nations Development Corporation and a Commissioner within the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area Planning Commission. Mr. Wiesenfeld is currently employed as Vice President with the firm of Bernstein Investment Research and Management. He has been active for many years in our community and is a strong voice for those causes in which he believes. Active with many local and national organizations, he possesses a high level of caring and involvement. Mr. Wiesenfeld holds membership on the Board's Committee on Faculty, Staff, and Administration, and the Committee on Facilities, Planning, and Management.
Joseph V. Scelsa is the Director of the Italian American Institute of the City University of New York, which he renamed the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute after the late State Senator in 1987. In 1995, the Calandra Institute was afforded the status of a full university research institute through Queens College, CUNY. As of March 1, 1999, Dr. Scelsa was named Dean of the Calandra Italian American Institute and appointed full Professor. In October 2000, he was named acting Vice President for Institutional Development at Queens College, CUNY.
Dr. Scelsa received his doctorate in Sociology and Education from Columbia University, and in addition, holds three Maters’ degrees in Sociology, Social Studies and Counseling. He is also nationally certified as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor.
As a graduate student at the City University of New York, Dr. Scelsa held the position of Vice Chair of Legislative Affairs of the University Student Senate. Today, he is a Board Member of the Columbia Club, the Coalition of Italo-American Associations, Italian Heritage and Culture Month Committee, , and various other Italian-American organizations. He is also Chairman of the National Italian American Foundation’s Education Institute.
Dr. Scelsa is Executive Producer and Host of ITALICS: The Italian-American Magazine, which is co-produced by the Calandra Institute and CUNY-TV, and is now in its thirteenth season on cable stations throughout the United States.
The author and editor of several books, Dr. Scelsa has written various articles and reports on ethnicity, pluralism and education, notably the report on the Italian-American High School Drop-Out Rate in the New York City Schools (New York Times, May 1, 1990). He was the historical consultant for A&E’s documentary The Italians in America, which premiered worldwide on October 11, 1998.
Wellington Chen is Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation.
Wellington is a highly respected public servant and long-time community advocate, urban planner and urban affairs specialist. As senior consultant/advisor of the Planning Advocacy Group for the past decade, Mr. Chen--a long-time Flushing resident--has been deeply involved in numerous community projects, including the downtown Flushing revitalization plan. Wellington was also the first Asian American to serve as a Commissioner on the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals. Mr. Chen co-founded Tri Plus Construction Corporation in 1989, a company dedicated to creating affordable housing in New York City.
An architect by training, Wellington worked for renowned architect I.M. Pei from 1980 to 1985. He has been a member of Community Board 7Q for over 13 years, and currently sits on a dozen other boards, including the City University of New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Queens Economic Development Corporation, and Asian American / Asian Research Institute.
Wellington was born in Taiwan and grew up in Singapore, Hong Kong and Brazil.
